Washer equipment for jetting washings so as to wash a windshield of a vehicle and the like includes a washer nozzle. The washer nozzle connects to a tank with a hose. The tank stores washings, and the washings are compressed and delivered by an electric pump mounted in the tank, so that the washings are jetted from the washer nozzle.
The washer equipment is required to sweep and wash a wide area in short time by using a small amount of the washings. According to this requirement, washer equipment with a washing supplier is disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2002-79918. This washer equipment jets the washings by a well-known directional jet flow type washer nozzle (i.e., a single jet type washer nozzle) and by a diffusion jet type washer nozzle (i.e., a spray jet type washer nozzle) that can jet the washings with a diffusion jet flow having a fan shape in a wide area.
The washer equipment according to the prior art includes the directional jet flow type washer nozzle and the diffusion jet type washer nozzle. The directional jet flow type washer nozzle jets the washings toward a sweep area of a driver's side wiper blade. The diffusion jet type washer nozzle jets the washings with the diffusion jet flow having the fan shape toward a sweep area of a passenger's side wiper blade. Therefore, a splashdown of the washings jetted from the directional jet flow type washer nozzle does not disturb a driver's view substantially. Moreover, on a windshield of a passenger's side, the washings are splashed down in a wide area so that washing performance of the sweep area is improved.
However, the washings are jetted locally toward the windshield of a driver's side by the directional jet flow type washer nozzle. Therefore, the washings are not supplied sufficiently in a wide area so that the driver's view is not secured. It is considered that the splashed washings on the windshield is swept and spread in the wide area by a sweeping operation of the wiper blade. However, much sweeping operation is necessitated to perform this spreading of the washings. Moreover, it is difficult to secure the driver's view rapidly.
Specifically, parallel interlock-type wiper equipment has the following problems because of its sweeping method. Here, the parallel interlock-type wiper equipment sweeps and washes a windshield of a vehicle by using washings supplied from the washer equipment. In the parallel interlock-type wiper equipment, a pair of wiper blades for sweeping both the driver's side and passenger's side windshields synchronizes and moves to the same direction so that the pair of wiper blades reciprocates and moves circularly on the windshield.
The washings splashed on the windshield are swept and spread by the parallel interlock-type wiper equipment, each wiper blade of which reciprocates and moves circularly (i.e., performs a sweeping operation) between a lower reverse position (i.e., a stop position) and an upper reverse position of the wiper blade. Thus, the windshield is swept and washed. Therefore, on the driver's side, the washings are jetted locally and concentrically so as to avoid an eye point of the driver on the windshield for securing the driver's view. It is considered that the washings splashed down locally and concentrically are swept and spread in a wide area by the wiper blade. However, the washings, which are splashed down to a certain point that is not the eye point of the driver, are not spread sufficiently so that the washings do not reach the upper reverse position. Especially, on a top end side of the wiper blade in a longitudinal direction (i.e., the upper half area of the sweep area), for example, on a portion of the windshield disposed upside of the eye point of the driver, there exists an insufficient washing portion, which is not swept and washed sufficiently. On the sweep area swept by the parallel interlock-type wiper equipment, specifically, on the driver's side sweep area, it is difficult to secure the driver's view rapidly and widely.
Moreover, when the washings are jetted by the directional jet flow type washer nozzle toward the sweeping area of the driver's side wiper blade, it is considered that the washings are splashed down directly to a certain position around the upper reverse position of the driver's side wiper blade so as to increase a washing area. In this case, the washings spread and swept by the upward sweeping operation of the driver's side wiper blade may be largely scattered out of the windshield and the like. Therefore, after the driver's side wiper blade reaches the upper reverse position, the washings cannot be used for a downward sweeping operation sufficiently. Further, to compensate this shortage of the washings, the washings are required to be jetted repeatedly. Thus, consumption of the washings increases.
Another washer equipment is disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2002-67887. This washer equipment has a diffusion type jet nozzle. The diffusion type jet nozzle can jet the washings widely so that the views of a driver and a passenger are secured widely by sweeping with wiper equipment.
The washer nozzle includes a nozzle chip engaged in a nozzle body. Moreover, the nozzle chip has an oscillation chamber for self-oscillating the washings inputted into the oscillation chamber. The oscillation chamber includes a diffusion passage (i.e., a main passage) and a feed back passage. The main passage flows the washings delivered from a supply passage of the nozzle body. The feed back passage branches a part of the washings, flows and returns the washings to the main passage, and is independent from the main passage. Thus, the washings flowing through the feed back passage becomes a control flow so that the washings flowing through the main passage are self-oscillated. The self-oscillated washings are jetted as a diffusion jet flow having a fan shape. Accordingly, the washings can be jetted to a comparatively wide area.
However, even when the diffusion type jet nozzle diffusely jets the washings widely, a distribution of the diffusion jet flow of the washings is not uniformed in such a manner that an amount of the washings at both ends of the fan shape of the diffusion jet flow is larger than that at a center portion of the fan shape of the diffusion jet flow. Therefore, the washings splashed down to the windshield cannot be supplied uniformly even if the washings on the windshield is swept and spread by a wiper blade. Therefore, there may exist an insufficient washing portion in a case where muddy water adheres on the windshield. Moreover, in the diffusion type jet nozzle, the jetted washings are composed of small drops having a comparatively small diameter. Therefore, the jetted washings are easily affected by the airflow in case of the vehicle running at high speed, so that the splashdown of the washings falls down from a predetermined position. Thus, the washings cannot be supplied to an upper portion of the windshield, so that the insufficient washing portion becomes larger. Thus, the driver's view on the driver's side windshield cannot be secured widely.
Assuming that the diffusion angle of the diffusion jet flow becomes large so as to enlarge the splashdown area, the washings are flown by the outside airflow so that the washings are sprayed out to the outside of the windshield, since the jetted washings are composed of small drops having a comparatively small diameter. Therefore, the washings cannot be used for washing and sweeping.
Moreover, in the above washer nozzle, the nozzle chip is engaged in the nozzle body water-tightly. When alignment or dimensional accuracy between the nozzle body and the nozzle chip becomes wrong, the jet flow axis of the diffusion or directional jet nozzle may deviate or disperse. This deviation or dispersion of the jet flow axis causes nonconformity, that is, for example, the washings are not splashed down to a predetermined area or the jet flow does not jet with a predetermined angle.